Panel connector employing flag-type terminals and terminal extracting tool for the same

ABSTRACT

A dielectric block carrying a longitudinally extending trough on one side and a plurality of spaced slots from the same side and intersecting the trough, have the root portions of the slots longitudinally enlarged at one side to define first and second shoulders. A FLAG-type terminal inserted into the trough in the same direction as the subsequently received printed circuit board has a tang within the web portion which contacts the second shoulder to resist removal forces in the plane of card insertion. The flag-type terminal is bent to longitudinally offset the web portion from the wire crimping portion to form an abutment which contacts the first shoulder and resists forces extending along the axis of the wire crimped thereto. A multi-armed extracting tool is inserted within the slot adjacent to the terminal arm for releasing the tang from the second shoulder for extraction of the terminal in the plane of the printed circuit board and in the direction of board extraction.

United States Patent [191 Asick [54] PANEL CONNECTOR EMPLOYING FLAG-TYPETERMINALS AND TERMINAL EXTRACTING TOOL FOR THE SAME [52] U.S. Cl......339/l76 MP, 339/217 S, 339/258 R,

[51] Int. Cl ..I-I05k 1/07, I-IOlr 13/12 [58] Field ofSearch.....339/17L, 17 LC, 17 LM, 75

MP, 339/176 MP, 184 M, 186 M, 217 S, 258 R,

258 F, 258 P, 276 F [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,075,167 l/l963 Kinkaid ..339/l76 MP 3,524,161 8/1970 Frantz et al......339/l7 L 3,555,493 l/l97l Baumanis ..339/l76 MP FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLlCATlONS 305,016 8/1967 Sweden ..339/17 L 1March 13, 1973 OTHERPUBLICATIONS H. H. Buggie Catalog, Printed Circuit Connectors, Jan.1954, page 2.

Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Assistant ExaminerLawrence J. StaabAtzorneyWil1iam J. Keating et al., Gerald K. Kita, John R. Flanagan andAllan B. Osborne [57] ABSTRACT A dielectric block carrying alongitudinally extending trough on one side and a plurality of spacedslots from the same side and intersecting the trough, have the rootportions of the slots longitudinally enlarged at one side to definefirst and second shoulders. A FLAG-type terminal inserted into thetrough in the same direction as the subsequently received printedcircuit board has a tang within the web portion which contacts thesecond shoulder to resist removal forces in the plane of card insertion.The flag-type terminal is bent to longitudinally offset the web portionfrom the wire crimping portion to form an. abutment which contacts thefirst shoulder and resists forces extending along the axis of the wirecrimped thereto. A multiarmed extracting tool is inserted within theslot adjacent to the terminal arm for releasing the tang from the secondshoulder for extraction of the terminal in the plane of the printedcirctuit board and in the direction of board extraction.

14 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEBMAR 13 I913 SHEET l UF 5PATENTEUMAR 13 I975 SHEET 2 BF 5 PATENIEnuAmm sum 3 or 5 UMTJPATENTEDMAR 13 ms SHEET L BF 5 JA/ ///V //l f 557 .424 ZTZ 6,9 2:: .5a

PATENTEIJHAR13 191s 3,720,907

7 SHEET 5 or 5 I l m- PANEL CONNECTOR EMPLOYING FLAG-TYPE TERMINALS ANDTERMINAL EXTRACTING TOOL FOR THE SAME This application is a continuationin part of U. S. application Ser. No. 114,793 filed Feb. 17, 1971,entitled Improved Panel Connector Employing Flag-type Terminals, nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to electrical connectors for forming disengageable electricconnections between a plurality of conductors on a rigid panel-likemember such as a printed circuit board and a corresponding number ofwires external of the panel. The invention is described with respect toa connector for specific use with a printed circuit board, however, itis readily apparent that the invention may be broadly applied to theformation of disengageable electrical connections with panel-likemembers of a more general nature.

Description of the Prior Art The general use of printed circuittechniques and especially thin, rigid printed circuit boards formed ofdielectric material and carrying printed circuit conductors on thesurface thereof or embedded within the same, has resulted in theevolvement of different connecting devices capable of disengageablyconnecting external conductors to the circuit paths on the printedcircuit board. One type of connector which is most suitably adapted tothe connection of a printed circuit board to a plurality of individualconductors or wires, is set forth in U. 5. Pat. No. 3,075,167, patentedJan. 22, 1963, and assigned to the common assignee. The con nectortherein involves a dielectric block having a longitudinally extendingtrough extending inwardly from one side and partially toward theopposite side for reception of an edge portion of the printed circuitboard. The trough is provided with a plurality of spaced, flag-typeconnectors partially carried within the trough and extending withinslots and through a side wall defined by the trough at right angles tothe plane of insertion of the printed circuit board. This arrangementeliminates any tendency on the part of a technician, in removing theblock from the board and vice versa, to grasp the external wires andpull on them to effect said dis-engagement. The flag-type connectors arecharacterized by resilient arms which frictionally grasp the individualconductors on the printed circuit board, with a barrel crimp portionextending outwardly from an interconnecting web portion at right anglesto the arms, from one side of the web portion, partially within andbeyond the slots formed in the side wall of the block. Since the slotswhich intersect the trough define an L-shaped cavity to receive both theprinted circuit board portion grasped between the resilient arms of theflag-type connector, and the wire connecting portion of the terminalwhich extends at right angles thereto, necessarily, the unitarydielectric block constituting plastic or the like, must be molded in acomplex mold. This complexity involves the movement of mold parts indirections at right angles to each other because of the configuration ofthe cavity. The number of segments forming the mold and the core pinsrequired to define the cavities within the block for subsequentreception of the terminals and the printed circuit board are also high.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION The present invention, in a preferredembodiment, constitutes a connector for a printed circuit board or thelike involving a dielectric block having an elongated, longitudinallyextending trough along one side of the block and extending partiallytherethrough toward the opposite side with the trough receiving an edgeportion of the printed circuit board. A plurality of longitudinallyspaced slots extend inwardly of the said one side of said block andinwardly of an adjacent side to intersect said trough and define onopposite side walls thereof, laterally extending recesses. The rootportions of the slots are longitudinally enlarged to one side thereof todefine first and second shoulder means at right angles to each other.Each slot and its intersecting trough portion receive a flag-typeterminal having a pair of laterally spaced arms carried by the troughportion which arms extend outwardly from a terminal web portion toreceive the inserted edge portion of the printed circuit board. A wirebarrel crimp portion extends outwardly of the web portions at rightangles to the arms and beyond the slot.

The web portion and the crimp portion of each terminal arelongitudinally offset to define abutment means for contact with thefirst shoulder means, while a tang carried by the web portion and struckoutwardly therefrom is directed at right angles to the abutment means tocontact the second shoulder means, thereby resisting forces actingthrough either the wires or the printed circuit boards tending to removethe same from the terminal. Both the terminal and the printed circuitboard are inserted in the same direction, thus insuring seating of theterminal in proper position while restrained against removal by theabutment means and the tang intersecting respective shoulders. Theprinted circuit board receiving arms are extensions of sides of the webportion which are bent at right angles from the web portion and are inarm facing position and occupy the root portions of the slot to therebyeffect good surface contact between the arms and the respective printedcircuit board conductor.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the tang is an integralextension of the web portion from the edge opposite that carrying thearms, lies between the opposed sides of the arms and is directedobliquely toward the free ends of the same, terminating beyond a planedefined by the side edges of the arms. A special extracting toolincludes first and second arms insertable into the trough and the slotcarrying the flag-type terminal, with the first arm movable to aposition between the tang and the web and the second arm extendingparallel thereto and movable into abutment with the end of the tang toflex the tang toward the first arm and to maintain the same in flexedposition. Abut ment means are formed by the first arm and contact theunderside of a lip extending inwardly from the free edge of the tangtoward the web portion of the terminal such that the first arm contactsthe underside of the lip during extraction of the tool, causing theterminal to follow the tool during extraction. The tool may be formed inunitary fashion from spring sheet metal stock including a loop defininghandle joining the arms which are longitudinally movable with respect toeach other, the first arm having its tip end reversely bent to define anedge abutment for the lip with the tip end facing the second arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing aconnector in accordance with the present invention in assembledrelationship to an edge portion of a printed circuit board.

FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view, partially in section, of aportion of the connector illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dielectric block of thepresent invention with several portions of the block rotated at rightangles to each other, and the paired core pins employed in the moldingof the same are illustrated in proper orientation with the block as usedin conjunction with a two-section mold (not shown).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the connectorof the present invention in position to receive an edge portion of aprinted circuit board.

FIG. 5 is an exploded, perspective view, partially in section, of aportion of the connector illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a metal stock strip after punching to form theterminal of the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one form of an improved extracting toolemployable in conjunction with the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are partial, sectional views of the connector ofFIG. 4 during extraction of a flag-type terminal by means of the tool ofFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a portion of the terminal, taken aboutline 99 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 10 is a partial, sectional view of a portion of the connectorillustrated in FIG. 4 and employing yet another extraction tool insertedfrom the same side of the dielectric block slot receiving the terminal.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2 of thedrawings, a connector 2 in accordance with the present invention isadapted to be assembled to and engaged with an edge portion of a printedcircuit board 4 having conductors 6 thereon which extend to the edge ofthe board. The connector comprises two principal components, principallya dielectric block 3 of nylon or other suitable, moldable, electricallyinsulative material, and a plurality of flag-type terminals 5 forreception therein. The dielectric block 3 is provided with a trough 10which extends inwardly from one side 8. The trough 10 is adapted toreceive the edge portion of the printed circuit board 4. If desired, anarrangement may be incorporated to polarize the connector block 3 withrespect to the printed circuit board 4, so that the parts can beassembled only in a proper and intended manner.

A plurality of longitudinally spaced slots are further provided in theblock and extend inwardly from the same side 8 as does trough 10 andfurther from an adjacent side 22. The slots have a depth as measuredfrom side 8 which is greater than the depth of the trough 10 in order toaccommodate the particular terminal 5 illustrated in FIG. 2 in a mannerto be described hereinafter. The slots 20 intersect the trough 10 and,from the bottom surface 16 of trough 10 upwardly, FIG. 2, the slots areenlarged, both in width and length, as at 18, separated by narrow walls19. More importantly, the root portions 26 of slots 20 are enlargedlongitudinally, that is, to the left side, FIG. 2, and define a firstshoulder 28 which faces opposite to the adjacent side 22 of the blockand a second shoulder 29 which faces away from the direction ofinsertion of both the terminal 5 and the printed circuit board 4. Theroot portions of the slots 20 outside of the trough 10 are furtherenlarged at 30 to receive the barrel crimp portions of the flag-typeterminal 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, it is noted that the flag-type terminal 5 ofstamped metal or the like comprises a web portion 40 having a wirebarrel crimp portion 36 and an insulation crimp portion 38, extending inorder from one edge of the web portion outwardly, the wire barrel crimpportion being in crimped engagement with the conducting strands of wire34 and the insulation crimp portion 38 being in crimped engagement withthe insulation of the wire 34 external of the conductors. A latch ortang 42 is partially struck out from web 40 and points in a direction atright angles to the crimp portions of the terminal. Further, it is notedthat the terminal web portion and the barrel crimp portions are offsetwith respect to each other, separated by flat surface abutment portion41 as one of two bent sides of terminal web portion 40, with this offsetbeing extended to form one of a pair of contact arms 46. The arms 46 areintegrally formed with the terminal web portion, extending from oppositesides. The arms have reversely bent ends 48 defining a V-shaped openingfor the reception of printed circuit board 4, whose width is slightlygreater than that of the opening between arms 46, so that the metallicresilient arms 46 flex slightly to receive the inserted end of the same.It is noted that rather than having narrow edges of the arms in contactwith the printed circuit board, in the present embodiment, the fullwidth of the arms contacts the board to provide increased surfacecontact area between the arms and the respective board conductor.

In the present embodiment, as well as in the reference above, the lowerportion of side 8 of the block is recessed with respect to the upperportion so that the block has a generally L-shaped cross section. Theblock itself may be provided with a circular mounting hole 49 at eachend, facilitating mounting of the block to a base or other support 53 byscrews 51.

In use, the conductors effecting external connections for the printedcircuit board will be provided with the flag-type terminals of the typeillustrated in FIG. 2, which are then inserted into the block from theside 8, that is, in the same direction and on the same side as thatreceiving the printed circuit board. Obviously, during insertion, thetang 42 for each terminal flexes inwardly as it passes through thenarrow portion of slot 20, but upon entering the enlarged root area 26of the slot, relaxes and moves into position just beneath the secondshoulder 29, thus preventing removal of the terminal in an oppositedirection, that is, away from side 8 of the block. Further, the flatsurface portion 41 of the terminal between the crimp portions 36 and 38and the web portion 40 defines an abutment which readily seats againstthe first shoulder 28 at right angles to the seating of the tang 42against the shoulder 29 to resist forces acting on wires 34 in adirection away from side 22 of the block.

After the terminals have all been inserted, with the V-shaped ends 48 ofthe arms facing the open end of the trough'l0 and positioned between thenarrow walls 19 and within the enlarged slot areas 18 above the bottom16 of the trough 10, the ends 48 of the arms 46 are not quite touchingthe sides of recesses 18, the insertion of a printed circuit board 4allows the contact arms 46 to be spread apart by the board and bythe'conductors 6 thereon, allowing frictional grasping of the printedcircuit board by the individual terminals at the conductor areas. Thus,the particular type of terminal shown is capable of making contact withconducting paths on both sides of the printed circuit board. One way inwhich an individual terminal can be removed from the block is by merelyinserting a blade into the enlarged root area 26 of the slot 20 todepress tang 42 so that it clears shoulder 29 and is within the webportion when moving upwardly and outwardly through the narrow portion ofthe slot 20.

The block for receiving the flag-type terminals, may be mostadvantageously molded at low cost, since the block or housing is made tothe use of a simple twopiece, two-directional mold, with the manner ofmanufacturing of the same being readily seen by reference to FIG. 3. Theblock 3 as prepared by the mold, is broken away with portion 3' rotated90 to the block proper to illustrate the various portions of trough andthe intersecting slots 20. Further, the exploded view furtherillustrates use of two core pin assemblies 60 and 62 of particularconfiguration, which are associated with a two-piece mold (not shown)which move in conjunction with assemblies 60 and 62 in oppositedirections as indicated by arrows 64 and 66. This allows molding in asingle or straight action mold wherein the two parts of the mold movealong a rectilinear path towards and away from each other and all of theshoulders and other cavity portions are formed by the suitably designedcore pin assemblies in the form of single units associated with eachmold half. With respect to FIG. 3, the core pin assembly 62 is shown inproper orientation with respect to the block proper, while, of course,the block portion 3 has been rotated 90 clockwise from the main portion3 of the block. The purpose of FIG. 3 is merely to illustrate the lowcost manufacturing technique employable in the molding of the block 3and theuse of core pins to define the cavity portions of the block isreadily apparent. In this regard, portions 68 of the upper core pinassembly 60 readily form the elongated trough 10 within the side 8 ofthe block, the outwardly and downwardly extended portion 70 of the samecreates the shoulders 28 which are in contact with abutment 41 of eachterminal 5. The narrow lateral extension portion 72 acts in conjunctionwith portions 68 and 70 to define slot 20, while large block portion 74creates, at the root, recess 30 which receives the conductor andinsulation crimp portions of the terminal.

Turning to the lower core pin assembly 62, this simplified assemblyemploys two rectangular abutting portions 76 and 78 at each location,which defines the enlarged root portion 26 of each slot and forms theshoulder 29 against which abuts, tang 42 during attempted removal of theterminal 5.

Referring in particular to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, an alternateembodiment of the connector of the present invention is illustrated at2' and is adapted to be assembled to and engaged with an edge portion ofa printed circuit board (not shown) identical in con struction andconfiguration to that. of the previous embodiment and insertable withina trough 10' which extends inwardly from one side 8' of the dielectricblock 3' of nylon or other suitable, moldable, electrically insulatedmaterial and-forming one of the principal com ponents of the connector.The other components comprise a plurality of flag-type terminals 5'which are received within the dielectric block 3. In like manner to theprevious embodiment, a plurality of longitudinally spaced slots 20' areprovided in the block and extend inwardly from the same side 8 as doestrough l0 and further from an adjacent side 22'. The slots have a depthas measured from side 8' which is greater than the depth of the trough10 in order to accommodate terminals 5'. The slots 20 intersect thetrough 10 with the slots being enlarged both in width and length as at18 from the bottom surface 16' of the trough 10' upwardly, the enlargedarea indicated at 18" is separated by narrow walls 19'. The rootportions 26' of the slots 20' are enlarged longitudinally, that is, tothe left side, FIG. 4, to define a first shoulder 28 which facesopposite to the adjacent side 22' of the block and a second shoulder 29'which faces away from the direction of insertion of both the terminal 5and the printed circuit board (not shown) which enters from side 8' ofthe block. The root portions of the slots 20' outside of the trough 10are further enlarged at 30' to receive the barrel crimp portions of theflag-type terminals 5'.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the flag-type terminal 5' is formed of stampedmetal or the like and prior to being bent into final form, has aconfiguration indicated best in FIG. 6. A strip 60 of metal stockmaterial has perforations 62 to permit feeding of the strip along amanufacturing path providing a multitude of operations, one of whichstamps out, from the strip or blank 60, the individual terminal blanks64 which are coupled to the perforated feed edge portion 66 by a thinconnecting portion 68. The purpose of illustrating the manner ofblanking the individual terminals in FIG. 6 is to show that the tang orlance 42' is achieved without substantially increasing the amount ofstock m'etal required to produce the individual terminals from the stripduring blanking. Thus, the lance or tang 42' of one terminal blank isformed from -the material lying between the contact arms 46' of the nextadjacent blank.

In like manner to the previous embodiment, the flagtype terminal 5' ofstamped metal comprises a web portion 40' having a barrel crimp portion36' and an insu lation crimp portion 38', extending in that order fromone edge of the web portion outwardly. Thus, the wire barrel crimpportion is in engagement with the conducting strands of wire and theinsulation crimp portion 38' is crimped to the insulation 34'surrounding the same.

Unlike the previous embodiment, the tang 42' is integral with the webportion 40', extending outwardly from edge 70 and reversely bent about aline 72 parallel with and in line with edge 70. Tang 42' extendsupwardly between arms 46' and is inclined obliquely from the web portion40'. The terminal web portion 40' and barrel crimp portion are laterallyoffset with respect to each other and separated by flat surface portion41' with the offset being formed by one of the pair of contact arms 46integral with the terminal web portion and extending from opposite sidesthereof. In like manner to the previous embodiment, the arms 46' havereversely bent ends 48' defining a V-shaped opening for the reception ofthe printed circuit board 73, FIG. 9. Preferably embossed contactbuttons 71 present raised contact surfaces which facilitate electricalcircuit completion with the inserted printed circuit board 73, FIG. 9.The tang 42' is substantially longer and therefore stronger and moredurable than the tang 42 of the first embodiment, tang 42' terminatingin an enlarged head 74 which is wider at its terminal end and defining apair of shoulder contact edges 76 on each side of inwardly turned, rightangle lip 78, the lip being coplanar with contact edges 76.

Turning to the insulation block housing the terminals, the block insimilar manner to the previous embodiment is generally L-shaped in crosssection, 'is provided with circular mounting holes 49', at each end ofthe same to allow mounting of the block to a base or other support. Theblock itself is modified somewhat from the prior embodiment, in that arectangular notch or slot 80 is formed extending from the bottom 16 ofthe trough to the second shoulder 29' for the specific purpose ofallowing an arm of an extraction tool to pass beyond the lip 78 of tang42' after being inserted in the same direction as the printed circuitcard to facilitate removal of the flag-type terminal from its respectiveslot 20 from the same side as terminal and card insertion.

In use, in similar fashion to the prior embodiment, the flag-typeterminals 5' are inserted into the slot from side 8, that is, in thesame direction and on the same side as that receiving the printedcircuit board. Because of the presence of the enlarged head 74, the tang42 for each terminal 5' flexes inwardly, that is, toward the web portion40' as it passes through the narrow portion of slot 20 but upon enteringthe enlarged root area 26 of the slot, relaxes and moves into a positionsuch that the contact edges 76 lie immediately beneath the shoulder 29,thus preventing removal of the terminal in an opposite direction exceptby use of an extraction tool. Further, the flat surface portion 41' ofthe terminal, in the identical manner of the first embodiment, forms anabutment which readily seats against the shoulder 28 at right angles tothe seating of tang 42' against shoulder 29' to resist forces acting onwires 3 in a direction away from side 22' of the block.

The embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 also involves an insulation block whichmay be molded in similar fashion to the first embodiment at low cost bythe use of a simple two-piece, two-directional mold as is readily seenin the perspective view of FIG. 5.

The present invention is further directed to a specially formed andconfigured extraction tool, FIG. 7, which enables the flag-type terminalto be extracted from the slots in block 3' receiving the same, the toolbeing inserted from the circuit board side of the slot to facilitateremoval of the terminal 5'. One embodiment of a tool allowing access ofthe tool from the same side as that receiving the printed circuit board,is illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B and 8C. Specifically, extracting tool82 is unitary, is formed of sheet metal spring stock in the form of ametal strip which is bent to form a handle 84 and which has integrallyextending from the same, a first arm 86 and a second arm 88. In thatrespect, arm 86 is bent through most of its length into L-shaped crosssection including a right angle guide portion 90 and terminates in areversely bent tip portion 92 whose edge 94 defines an abutment surface.Further, an L- shaped stop 96 extends outward of the guide portion 90and is received within a notch 98 on edge 100 of'arm 88. In thisrespect, arm 88 is twisted at 102 so that it lies parallel to andadjacent the guide portion 90 of the first arm. The end 104 of secondarm 88 terminates in an obliquely tapered camming edge 106. The U-shapedhandle 84 provides a biasing force such that the arm 88 in relaxedposition has its tip end 104 lying inwardly of the reversed or bent tipend 92 of the first arm 86. By grasping handle 84 and squeezing on thesame, the second arm 88 is moved longitudinally with respect to thefirst arm 86, a distance defined by the slot 98 and the fixed stop 96carried thereby. The extent of reciprocation and its effect in assistingin unlocking tang 42 from the second shoulder 29 may be best seen byreference to the sequence of steps in the use of the tool, asillustrated in FIGS. 8A 8C.

The flag-type terminal is shown in FIG. 8A in relaxed position withinthe root portion 26 of slot 20, such that the right angle lip 78 abutsshoulder 29, tang 42' being inclined in this instance upwardly andoutwardly, that is, away from the web portion 40 of the flag-typeterminal 5. The reversely bent tip end 92 of arm 86 moves into the slot20 and passes between the web portion 40 and the lance or tang 42' untilwell beyond the right angle lip 78. With the tool in relaxed condition,the tip end 106 of the second relatively movable arm 88, is well inboardof the tip end 92 of the other arm 86. However, when the arm 86 bottomsout between the tang 42' and the web portion 40', further depression ofthe tool causes compression of the handle and continued movement of thesecond arm 88 with respect to the first arm 86, such that the cammingsurface 106 contacts tang 42' and flexes the tang 42 towards the webportion 40 of the terminal 5' causing the lip 78 to move out from underthe shoulder 29', thus freeing the terminal 5'. Further, the edge of thesecond arm facing the first arm maintains the tang 42' in a flexedparallel position with respect to the web portion 40' and upon removalof the tool, in a direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8C, theabutment edge 94 of the reversely turned tip end 92 of the first arm 86contacts the bottom surface of the lip 78 of tang 42', forcing theextraction of the terminal 5 along with the extracting tool 82. Thus, asan important advantage of the second embodiment, the individual terminalmay be removed from the circuit board slot of the block by means of thetool illustrated in FIG. 7 or an equivalent tool.

Using tool 182, it is necessary to enter from the rearward side of thehousing to remove the terminal by pushing rather than pulling. FIG. 10shows the method of using a simple single arm tool to extract aflag-type terminal when access to side of the block opposite to thatreceiving the printed circuit board may be readily had. In this case,the tool 182 which is not completely illustrated, includes a bladeforming a single arm 188 having a recessed portion 190 terminating in aninclined camming edge 206 at tip end 204 which contacts the flag-typeterminal in the area of the bend line 72 to force lip 78 from beneaththe second shoulder 29. Continuous movement in the direction of thearrow forces the terminal in this case, upwardly and outwardly of slotThe housing or block and its method of manufacture are readilycontrasted with the referred to patent, in that the housing illustratedin the patent requires a more complex mold requiring one core pin foreach cavity, which move normally to the path of movement of the moldpart, requiring separate moving means for the core pins and the moldsegment, an obvious disadvantage which results in increased cost ofmanufacture of the same. In addition, from the above description, sincethe terminal enters the housing or block in the same direction as thatof the subsequently inserted printed circuit board, if any one of theterminals is not properly locked in position within the housing, thissubsequent insertion of the printed circuit board contacts protrusion 74of web portion 40' to automatically move the terminal into the properposition and insure a proper lock between the terminal and the housingreceiving the same. The locking latch or tang is positioned so as toallow ready detachment of any one of the terminals from the housing slotto facilitate removal of the same and/or replacement. The employment ofa terminal in which the arms face each other from opposite edges of theweb portion creates in effect an ad ditional abutment surface area forready contact with one shoulder to provide greater resistance againstforces tending to detach the wires from the terminal.

As mentioned previously, the invention is adaptable to uses inenvironments other than that shown in the drawing and may readilyprovide disengageable electrical connections with both tape, cable orpanels having flat conductors thereon which are similar, to conventionalprinted circuit panels. Changes in construction will occur to thoseskilled in the art and various apparently different modifications andembodiments may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention. The matters set forth in the foregoing description andaccompanying drawings are offered by way of illustration only.

What is claimed is:

l. A disengageable connector assembly for connecting a plurality of leadwires with a panel-like member having conductors thereon, comprising:

a dielectric block having a trough extending along one side thereof forreception of said panel-like member,

a plurality of longitudinally spaced slots in said block extendingtransversely of and intersecting said trough from the side carrying saidtrough and an adjacent side thereof, portions of said slots beinglongitudinally enlarged to define first and second shoulder means atright angles to each other,

flag-type terminals carried by said slots, and extending into saidtrough, each of said flag-type terminals including:

a web portion and a wire connection portion offset by a right angleabutment joining the web portion to the wire connection portion, and

a tang carried by said web portion extending outwardly therefrom andhaving a contact edge lying at right angles to the plane of saidabutment for contacting said second shoulder means, whereby: saidflag-type terminal is inserted within said slot in v the same directionas said panel-like member with said abutment facing said first shouldermeans and said tang facing said second shoulder means to thereby resistforces acting on the wire coupled 1 thereto or the panel-like membertending to remove the panel from the terminal.

2. The disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein:the edge of said terminal web portion remote from said abutment is bentat right angles thereto, parallel to said abutment and in the samedirection, and said flag-type terminal further includes a pair ofpanel-receiving arms which comprise flexible extensions of said abutmentand said edge respectively and wherein said slots are longitudinallyenlarged on each side of said trough to receive said arms, wherebymaximum surface contact exists between the panel-like member andrespective arms receiving the same.

3. The disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, whereinsaid slots include enlarged root portions extending outwardly, beyondsaid adjacent side, and said flag-type terminals include an enlargedcrimp portion disposed therein.

4. An electrical terminal for use with an edge connector panel-likemember comprising:

a substantially flat web portion,

opposed sides of said web portion being bent inwardly in the samedirection to define a portion U- shaped in section,

arms extending from each of said bent sidesbeyond said web portion in acommon direction,

a crimp portion extending from the free end of one of said bent sides ofsaid web portion, in a direction away from the web portion to defineabutment means between the web portion and the crimp portion,

and a tang partially struck out from said web portion extendingobliquely therefrom in the direction of said arms.

5. The electrical terminal as claimed in claim 4, wherein said armsinitially curve towards each other with the ends flared outwardly todefine a V-shaped opening for reception of said panel-like member.

6. A disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein:each terminal has opposed arms extending away from said web portion andat right angles to the longitudinal axis of said wire connection portionto resiliently grasp the panel-like member which is insertedtherebetween, and said tang comprises an integral extension of said webportion, lying between said arms and extending toward the free end ofsaid arms to contact said second shoulder means. I

7. A disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 2, whereinsaid tang comprises an integral extension of said web portion, lyingbetween said arms and extending toward the free ends of the arms tocontact said second shoulder means.

8. A disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, whereinsaid tang comprises an integral extension of said web portion, lyingbetween said arms and extending toward the free ends of the arms tocontact said second shoulder means.

9. The disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, whereinsaid tang extends obliquely from the edge of said web portion remotefrom said arms, and wherein said tang terminates beyond a plane definedby the side edges of said arms.

10. The disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 7, whereinsaid tang extends obliquely from the edge of said web portion remotefrom said arms, and wherein said tang lies intermediate said abutmentand said bent edge and terminates beyond a plane defined by the sideedges of said arms.

11. The disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 8, whereinsaid tang extends obliquely from the edge of said web portion remotefrom said arms, and wherein said tang lies intermediate said abutmentand said bent edge and terminates beyond a plane defined by the sideedges of said arms.

12. An electrical terminal for use with an edge connector panel-likemember comprising:

a substantially flat web portion,

opposed sides of said web portion being bent inwardly in the samedirection to define a portion U- shaped in section,

integral arms extending from each of said bent sides beyond the webportion in a common direction, a crimp portion extending from the freeedge of one of said bent sides of said web portion, in a direction awayfrom the web portion to define abutment means and to offset the webportion from the crimp portion,

and a tang integral with said web portion, lying between said opposedsides and extending towards the free end of said arms.

13. The electrical terminal as claimed in claim 12, wherein said tangextends obliquely away from the edge of said web portion remote fromsaid arms, and wherein said tang lies intermediate said bent sides andterminates beyond a plane defined by the side edges of said arms.

14. The electrical terminal as claimed in claim 13, wherein said armsinitially curve towards each other with the ends thereof flaredoutwardly to define a V- shaped opening for reception of said panel-likemember.

1. A disengageable connector assembly for connecting a plurality of leadwires with a panel-like member having conductors thereon, comprising: adielectric block having a trough extending along one side thereoF forreception of said panel-like member, a plurality of longitudinallyspaced slots in said block extending transversely of and intersectingsaid trough from the side carrying said trough and an adjacent sidethereof, portions of said slots being longitudinally enlarged to definefirst and second shoulder means at right angles to each other, flag-typeterminals carried by said slots, and extending into said trough, each ofsaid flag-type terminals including: a web portion and a wire connectionportion offset by a right angle abutment joining the web portion to thewire connection portion, and a tang carried by said web portionextending outwardly therefrom and having a contact edge lying at rightangles to the plane of said abutment for contacting said second shouldermeans, whereby: said flag-type terminal is inserted within said slot inthe same direction as said panel-like member with said abutment facingsaid first shoulder means and said tang facing said second shouldermeans to thereby resist forces acting on the wire coupled thereto or thepanel-like member tending to remove the panel from the terminal.
 1. Adisengageable connector assembly for connecting a plurality of leadwires with a panel-like member having conductors thereon, comprising: adielectric block having a trough extending along one side thereoF forreception of said panel-like member, a plurality of longitudinallyspaced slots in said block extending transversely of and intersectingsaid trough from the side carrying said trough and an adjacent sidethereof, portions of said slots being longitudinally enlarged to definefirst and second shoulder means at right angles to each other, flag-typeterminals carried by said slots, and extending into said trough, each ofsaid flag-type terminals including: a web portion and a wire connectionportion offset by a right angle abutment joining the web portion to thewire connection portion, and a tang carried by said web portionextending outwardly therefrom and having a contact edge lying at rightangles to the plane of said abutment for contacting said second shouldermeans, whereby: said flag-type terminal is inserted within said slot inthe same direction as said panel-like member with said abutment facingsaid first shoulder means and said tang facing said second shouldermeans to thereby resist forces acting on the wire coupled thereto or thepanel-like member tending to remove the panel from the terminal.
 2. Thedisengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein: theedge of said terminal web portion remote from said abutment is bent atright angles thereto, parallel to said abutment and in the samedirection, and said flag-type terminal further includes a pair ofpanel-receiving arms which comprise flexible extensions of said abutmentand said edge respectively and wherein said slots are longitudinallyenlarged on each side of said trough to receive said arms, wherebymaximum surface contact exists between the panel-like member andrespective arms receiving the same.
 3. The disengageable connectorassembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said slots include enlarged rootportions extending outwardly, beyond said adjacent side, and saidflag-type terminals include an enlarged crimp portion disposed therein.4. An electrical terminal for use with an edge connector panel-likemember comprising: a substantially flat web portion, opposed sides ofsaid web portion being bent inwardly in the same direction to define aportion U-shaped in section, arms extending from each of said bent sidesbeyond said web portion in a common direction, a crimp portion extendingfrom the free end of one of said bent sides of said web portion, in adirection away from the web portion to define abutment means between theweb portion and the crimp portion, and a tang partially struck out fromsaid web portion extending obliquely therefrom in the direction of saidarms.
 5. The electrical terminal as claimed in claim 4, wherein saidarms initially curve towards each other with the ends flared outwardlyto define a V-shaped opening for reception of said panel-like member. 6.A disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein: eachterminal has opposed arms extending away from said web portion and atright angles to the longitudinal axis of said wire connection portion toresiliently grasp the panel-like member which is inserted therebetween,and said tang comprises an integral extension of said web portion, lyingbetween said arms and extending toward the free end of said arms tocontact said second shoulder means.
 7. A disengageable connectorassembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tang comprises an integralextension of said web portion, lying between said arms and extendingtoward the free ends of the arms to contact said second shoulder means.8. A disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 3, whereinsaid tang comprises an integral extension of said web portion, lyingbetween said arms and extending toward the free ends of the arms tocontact said second shoulder means.
 9. The disengageable connectorassembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said tang extends obliquely fromthe edge of said web portion remote from said arms, and wherein saidtang terminates beyond a plane defined by the siDe edges of said arms.10. The disengageable connector assembly as claimed in claim 7, whereinsaid tang extends obliquely from the edge of said web portion remotefrom said arms, and wherein said tang lies intermediate said abutmentand said bent edge and terminates beyond a plane defined by the sideedges of said arms.
 11. The disengageable connector assembly as claimedin claim 8, wherein said tang extends obliquely from the edge of saidweb portion remote from said arms, and wherein said tang liesintermediate said abutment and said bent edge and terminates beyond aplane defined by the side edges of said arms.
 12. An electrical terminalfor use with an edge connector panel-like member comprising: asubstantially flat web portion, opposed sides of said web portion beingbent inwardly in the same direction to define a portion U-shaped insection, integral arms extending from each of said bent sides beyond theweb portion in a common direction, a crimp portion extending from thefree edge of one of said bent sides of said web portion, in a directionaway from the web portion to define abutment means and to offset the webportion from the crimp portion, and a tang integral with said webportion, lying between said opposed sides and extending towards the freeend of said arms.
 13. The electrical terminal as claimed in claim 12,wherein said tang extends obliquely away from the edge of said webportion remote from said arms, and wherein said tang lies intermediatesaid bent sides and terminates beyond a plane defined by the side edgesof said arms.